


The Prince and The Puppy

by all_their_intricacies



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fairy Tale Elements, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, M/M, Prompt Fill, Tea Parties, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-20 08:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18988567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_their_intricacies/pseuds/all_their_intricacies
Summary: Wherein there's a tea party, a realization of love, a witch, a puppy, a kiss to break a curse, and overall, just a whole lot of fluff.





	The Prince and The Puppy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shatteeran](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatteeran/gifts).



> inspired by [this](https://66.media.tumblr.com/1113261eba473aeebb5871e894be6aeb/tumblr_o8jib1evYg1vw8c6ho1_500.gif) and motivated by [this](https://66.media.tumblr.com/947198ded989eb9da6fc897b35afb349/tumblr_pqks5aGGmf1w2cw7w_540.jpg)

Theo shouldn’t be here right now. In fact, he should be _anywhere else_ but here. In another fact, he should be with the pack, helping them catch the witch that has been roaming around Beacon Hills and causing troubles for everyone.

Okay, sure, he isn’t a part of the pack, and sure, the witch hasn’t done anything beyond some mildly unfunny pranks that barely left behind any permanent damage, but that’s not the point. The point is that Theo should be with the McCall pack, utilizing his knowledge on witches and overall skills, instead of being here.

And by _here_ , he means in Liam’s house, babysitting Liam’s ten-year-old— _and a half_ , as Hannah has pointed out when she first introduced herself to him—cousin after she was dropped off by her mother so that she and Liam’s mom could have a ( _much deserving_ ) day to themselves.

There’s three reasons that Theo would like to point out, on why this is an issue, on why Theo should be _anywhere else_ but here. The first one is as Theo mentioned above. He is a valuable asset for the pack in a time of near-crisis like this instead of being left behind, but whatever, their loss.

Secondly, this was supposed to be a shared duty between Liam and Theo, like Liam’s mom has stated clearly before waving them goodbye and climbing into her sister’s car. And for a while, it has been like that. The two of them has sat together on the couch with Liam’s little cousin between them, chatting animatedly and showing off her new drawings.

But then, Liam’s phone rings, and the boy escapes to the kitchen to answer it, leaving Theo behind at the mercy of this young child. Theo can only catch a few snippets of Liam’s conversation with Scott on the other end; they’re talking about the witch and how she’s been spotted near the edge of town. The rest of Theo’s attention is dedicated, or more accurately, captured by the little girl sitting besides him.

She’s asking one nonsensical question after another. Like, where her mom is— _“Out with Liam’s mom,” he says while keeping his eyes on the kitchen door—_ and where _his_ mom is— _“I’ll let you know when I figure it out,”_ _he says with a shrug, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice_ —and whether or not Liam and him are in love.

The last one really catches him off guard. It has him spluttering and staring at the little girl with wide eyes, mouth gaping like a fish caught on land. Luckily for him, though, he’s saved from having to come up with answer by Liam returning from the kitchen, announcing that he has to leave since the pack needs his help.

Theo argues, saying that he should come with but Liam points out that someone should stay behind and watch Hannah. Theo wants to argue more, but before he can say anything, Liam is waving them goodbye, taking Theo’s car key from the bowl besides the front door and all but run out of the house. Theo can only stares at the dust Liam’s left behind in contempt.

So that’s reason number two; that Liam has left him behind to deal with this all own his own. A part in him is upset because Liam has, once again, chosen the pack over him. That’s fine, really, the pack is the pack and Theo’s just… Theo. Above all, though, he’s mad too because he’s thought that he’d get to spend the entire day with Liam, even with the little girl. They can just put her in front of a TV screen before escaping to the comfort of Liam’s bedroom for a make-out session or something.

But now there’s only him here, trying to keep the anger from his face as Hannah recounts a story about a classmate and a box of crickets.

And that leads him to reason number three of why Theo _shouldn’t_ be here. Surely, there’s better options of people out there who can come over to watch Liam’s little cousin better than an ex-murderer, reformed psychopath and just overall a horrible person—Stiles’ words—like Theo. 

They could have just sat and waited, after Liam’s phone call with Scott, until they could get someone to come over and watch Hannah for them. Hell, there’s Mason, who’s a human and must be better equipped to deal with a little girl better than Theo could ever. There’s also Corey, who’s sweet and gentle and must be a hit with girls Hannah’s age. Hell, there’s even Stiles, who’s a little erratic, sure, even a bit crazy, a lot of stupid, but from what Theo can tell, so are children, so they’ll just get right along in no time.

There’s so many better options than Theo, but for some reasons, Liam didn’t even spare it a thought and just told Theo to stay behind, to watch over his cousin—a young, small and completely helpless little girl against someone who’s been known as dangerous and ruthless like Theo.

Sure, he isn’t any of those things anymore—or, well, he likes to believe that he isn’t anymore, at least—but still… Stiles would definitely freak if he ever found out that Liam left his cousin alone with Theo like this. Theo can already imagine the veins on Stiles’ head popping at the mere mention of his name.

So there’s that. Those are the three reasons—very valid reasons—on why he shouldn’t be here right now. But there’s no one else here for him to complain about it. There’s only Hannah, and the stuffed animals she’s currently pulling out of her backpack while announcing that they should have a tea party.

Theo would object, but there’s not really much else to do, and Theo has never been to a tea party before.

And so Theo finds himself rummaging through the fridge for a good substitute for tea; Hannah wants him to make actual tea, but Theo knows better than to let a little girl handles hot beverage even under his supervision. So, after quite a while of arguing, Hannah finally gives in and begrudgingly accepts the orange juice being poured into the plastic set of tea pot and cups she’s brought over from her own house.

They set the party out in the living room, with Hannah sitting on one side of the couch while Theo sits on the other end, a line of stuffed animals—other guests of the party, as Hannah emphatically announces—settled comfortably in between of them.

Hannah has also taken out a crown from her bag, one that’s bedazzled to the heavens with pink and white rhinestones. She places the crown atop her head and gracefully introduces herself as Queen Hannah of Cotton Candy Land.

She pauses for a short moment, which Theo takes as cues to give her a little bow, before moving on to introduce the party guests. Theo tries to keep up with the names, but each one sounds even more ridiculous than the last, all are synonyms of either the word ‘candy’ or ‘fluffy’.

When all the guests have been introduced, all Lords and Ladies of Cotton Candy Land, it’s finally Theo’s turn, and really, Theo doesn’t remember being this awkward _ever,_ in his entire life.

Well, there was the time before the Dread Doctors came for him, but that’s not something he’d like to think about right now, so he just sets his cup of orange juice down, wondering whether or not he should stand before deciding that sitting down is fine for him.

“Uh,” Theo starts, and _fuck_ , why is he so nervous and tongue-tied in front of a bunch of stuffed animals and the little girl ruling over them? “Hi, everyone,” he gives a little wave before cringing internally at himself, “I’m Theo. Nice to meet—”

“Nuh-uh,” Hannah interrupts, shaking her head. “You can’t be _just_ Theo. You must be a member of royalty to attend this party.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that at the start, then?” Theo argues, giving Hannah a hard glare which she does not back down from.

She snarls at him, not very queen-like, though he doesn’t point that out. “It’s a _tea party._ Of course only royalties are invited.”

Theo wants so very much to point out that that isn’t true, but he knows that this is an argument he cannot win no matter how hard he tries, so in the end, he just lets it slide. “What do you want me to do now?” he asks, sullen.

“You can be a prince!” she says, smiling cheerfully at him. “You’re beautiful. Like a prince should be.”

Theo does not blush at her compliment. He absolutely _does not._

“Oh, okay then,” he says, trying to fight the smile that’s tugging at the corner of his lips. It was just a small compliment, there’s no reason to feel this fluster over it—or rather, the sweet and innocent way Hannah has said it. “Hi, uh, everyone. I’m Prince Theo.”

“Of?” Hannah asks expectantly.

“Of Cotton Candy Land,” he adds quickly, and Hannah’s smiles is so bright, it can almost outshines the morning light pouring through the windows. Theo finds himself unable to fight back a smile of his own this time around, and really, there’s no reason to hide his real emotions in front of this little girl—not the he’s been trying to hide much, these days, as a part of his ‘trying to be good’initiative.

“But you don’t have a crown...” Hannah thinks out loud, a moment later, tilting her head a little.

“Well, can’t I just have that one?” Theo points at the crown peeking out of Hannah’s backpack. He’s been curious about it, as to why Hannah has two crowns instead of just the one for herself.

“You can’t have that, silly,” Hannah says plainly, like Theo should have already figured that out. “That’s a king crown, and it’s Liam’s.”

“Wait, Liam’s a king?” he can’t help but ask, trying to stump down the first part of jealousy creeping up around his heart. 

“Yeah. He’s my king and he’s the absolute best!”

And, like, whatever, alright? It’s not like any of this is real anyway, but in Theo’s opinion, he would have made a better king than Liam. For one, he’s here and the little runt is not. For two, he’s more handsome—or _beautiful_ , as Hannah has said—and better equipped to rule a make-believe kingdom full of stuffed animals.

But whatever. It’s not like Theo cares. He absolutely does not sulk while Hannah happily announces that she will make Theo a paper crown, one that’s beautiful and grand and fitting for his position as a Prince of her kingdom.

It takes a moment, and by the time Hannah is done with her little arts and crafts project, she skips merrily towards Theo, standing in front of him and presenting to him her final product. 

It is what she’s said, a paper crown with drawings of flowers and what must be cotton candies but look more like little clouds floating here and there. In the middle, right at the front of the crown, stand the bold, uneven letters of _Prince Theo_. The whole thing unevenly cut and glued together, with tiny bits and pieces of paper still clinging to the edges.

In short, it’s the most beautiful anyone has ever given him—not that people give him much of anything, nowadays, with the exception of maybe Liam and his family. Theo likes it a lot, much more than he’d ever care to admit.

He accepts the crown as Hannah hands it over to him, putting it on his head with a dramatic flourish that makes Hannah giggle with glee.

“Yay!” she cheers, clapping her hands and bouncing on her feet. “ _Now_ you’re truly Prince Theo of Cotton Candy Land.” 

Theo finds himself smiling against, sharing the same one on Hannah’s face as she bounces back to her seat at the other end of the couch.

The party goes on after that. They talk about nonsensical things, and soon enough, Theo can no longer feel the spite and bitterness that’s been haunting the back corner of his mind ever since Liam chose to leave him behind.

It’s really nice to just sit here and drink orange juice while pretending it’s tea inside a tea cup with a bunch of stuffed animals and a little girl who has no ideas what bad deeds Theo had committed in the past. To Hannah—and the rest of the party guests too, even—he’s just Prince Theo of her cotton filled-kingdom—as she’s described it to him—and she treats him as such, like he’s royalty, like he’s something to be cherished. 

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment when it’s like this, strangely peaceful and calm and sort of really fun. This is something Theo hasn’t had before, not even in his childhood before the Dread Doctors came, not even with Tara. He didn’t have that many friends, and Tara had too many of her own, so it was always just him. Even with Scott and Stiles, he always felt like he was intruding on something that wasn’t meant for him.

“Hey, uh, Queen Hannah, can I ask you a question?” he says, feeling braver than ever before. It’s sort of alarming to him that this little girl has been able to bring out so many good things in him—things that he’s kept hidden for so long, that he’s even forgotten existed within him. Almost like how Liam did. 

Theo hypothesizes that maybe it just runs in the family, the ability to make Theo feel welcomed—like how Jenna did when she opens her door to him—and belonged—like how David did when he asked Theo to join him for a chess game in his office—and wanted—like how Liam did with his… _everything_.

“Of course, Prince Theo,” Hannah replies, smiling brightly at him.

Theo returns the smile with a soft one of his own. “Before, when you asked me if Liam and I were in love. Why did— what made you want to ask me that?” he asks in a quiet voice, almost like he’s not sure whether he actually wants the answer or not.

Hannah takes a moment to think about it, pursing her lips and tilting her head a little. “Well, you had this look on your faces that my parents would have sometimes,” she says, shrugging. “I asked them about it once, and my parents said it was because they were in love with each other.”

“Oh…” Theo manages, completely stunned by her innocent yet ground-breaking observation.

He’s really not being subtle about it, is he? Not when even a little girl—albeit an intelligent and well-informed little girl—can catch it. The thing is, though, she asked if Liam _and_ Theo were in love, not if Theo was in love with Liam; she said they had this lookon their _faces_ , not just Theo and his own expression.

Could it be…?

Theo doesn’t have the time to rationalize it, though, as the front door is slammed open and through comes a horde of teenagers, arguing loudly and not concerning of what they’re interrupting.

“It’s _your_ fault,” Stiles is acclaiming loudly, looking at an equally angered Mason.

“ _My_ fault? Did you hit your head on the way back and just forget everything that just happened? It was _you_ who pissed off the witch!” Mason counters, glaring at Stiles with contempt, and even though Theo wasn’t there to witness what happened, he’s one hundred percent certain that Mason is on the right here.

“Guys, c’mon now. It doesn’t matter whose fault it was, we need to figure this out,” Scott is saying, trying to step in the middle of the other two.

Theo frowns a little in confusion at the little golden retriever puppy Scott’s holding close to his chest, shielding the animal from the spitfire happening in front of them. _Did they stop at the animal clinic to pick the puppy up or something?_

Theo takes another look around and his frown deepens as there’s no sight of Liam. There’s Corey holding on his boyfriend’s elbow and pulling him back. There’s Lydia standing at the far back, rolling her eyes at the scene in front of her. There’s Malia, cradling her left arm and wincing in pain at the smallest of movement. There’s all of them, but no Liam.

Something has happened, _definitely_ Stiles’ fault, and Liam is nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Liam?” Theo asks, loud enough to cut through the petty argument between the two pack members. They all turn to look at him, and Theo feels his heart race, blood rushing through his ears as his mind provides him with images of all the things that could have— _must have_ —gone wrong.

He starts to feel the bitterness from before return, mixed in with something like anger, like rage because he should have been there. He could have helped and Liam would have been okay.

“Yeah, of course _that’s_ the first thing you noticed, you dope,” Stiles retorts, rolling his eyes.

Theo pays him no mind as his eyes find Scott, quietly pleading the Alpha to give him an explanation that doesn’t involve Liam being hurt in any way. Scotts only holds up the puppy he’s holding. Theo stares at him, confused.

“Why do you have a puppy with you?”

“It’s, uh— it’s Liam,” the Alpha says, coughing awkward like he himself can also hear how crazy that is.

“What?”

“We found the witch,” it’s Mason who speaks this time, drawing Theo’s incredulous eyes away from Scott. “It was all going fine until _someone_ —” Mason spares a glare at Stiles besides him, who rolls his eyes again but stays silent, “—decided to run his mouth and pissed the witch off. She got real angry and turned Liam into a puppy. She said he needed a kiss from a princess to turn him back.”

“Okay...” Theo drawls, still a little bemused. “Where are we going to find a princess then?”

“Well, we don’t know any princess, that’s for sure, but maybe a kiss from a _prince_ would work as well,” Mason points out, eyes glinting with a sort of amusement that Theo finds very unpleasant.

He stares at the younger boy for one short second before remembering the paper crown atop his head, boldly announcing him as _Prince Theo._ Theo opens his mouth and gives Mason a stern talking to with the main subject being Mason is an idiot and Theo is going to kick ass despite what Liam might say—you know, once they turn him back to human form again.

However, before any word can come out, Hannah is already jumping from her seat on the couch and inserts herself into their conversation.

“It won’t work!” she proclaims, almost whining as she looks at Mason in offense, like she just _cannot_ believe Mason would have the _gall_ to suggest something as that. “Only a princess would be able to break his curse, and Theo’s a prince!”

Theo knows he should be more disturbed by the fact that she’s not even questioning the legitimacy of Mason’s claim that Liam has been turned to a puppy. But then again, he did just spend the better part of the morning pretending to be a prince in a kingdom full of cotton candies, alongside with Hannah and her little stuffed animals made animated by the back stories she’s made up for them.

“Oh, I think I have a solution for that,” Stiles says, and despite not knowing whathe means by _solution,_ Theo can feel still feel it in his guts that it won’t be anything that he will enjoy. 

As expected, Stiles pulls a black marker seemingly out of nowhere—it just fucking appears in his hand—and approaches Theo with too much wicked glee behind his eyes. Theo tries not to flinch, as Stiles reaches above his head, scribbling something onto Theo’s paper crown before pulling back, smirking triumphantly. Theo doesn’t have to look to figure out what the fucker just wrote on his crown.

“There you go,” he says, in spite of Theo’s unimpressed stare directing at him. “Now you’re a princess. Can you please just give Liam a kiss so we can go back to our lives?”

Theo’s reluctant and entirely done with this, but there are expectant looks from everyone in the room—even Hannah, because apparently logic and gender just don’t exist in her little girl’s brain. Theo sighs, long-suffering, and reaches his hands out to gently hold the puppy’s head in place while he places a kiss atop its soft platinum-gold fur.

There’s a bang, a flash and a puff of smoke, and before Theo can figure out what just happened, he’s met with a pair of very familiar blue eyes and a lap full of Liam. A very, extremely naked Liam, who’s staring at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Theo shares the exact same sentiment.

There’s a yelp, and Theo absently noticed someone crouching down to take Hannah in their arms, shielding her innocent eyes from the naked boy in Theo’s lap. Someone else is cheering loudly in the background. Theo would try to figure out what they’re all saying, but he’s too taken by the sound of his own heart beating wildly in his chest. It’s even worse that he can feel Liam’s heart against his as well.

At that moment, the door swings open once again, and this time, it’s Jenna and her sister, who are both appropriately surprised, appalled and thoroughly horrified at the sight of their son and nephew completely butt-ass naked sitting in his friend’s lap right in front of their little girl. Also surrounded by their friends. Who are cheering and whooping loudly.

It takes a lot of convincing, but Jenna—with the help of Lydia and Mason—managed to keep Hannah’s mother from calling the police on all of their asses. It helps that Hannah herself doesn’t seem at all traumatized by what she just witnessed. In fact, she’s all too happy with witnessing a miracle in progress, even goes as far as gifting her crown to Theo, effectively forfeiting her seat as the Queen of Cotton Candy Land.

In the background, Theo can hear Stiles snicker as the little girl tells Theo how he’s more fitting for the position than she is now. Like in the fairy tale, The Princess and The Frog, but in this case, it’s the Prince and the Puppy. She also doesn’t fail to mention that Liam and Theo should get married now and live happily ever after. Just like how it is in the fairy tale.

Later, when everyone else has gone home, and after a very _interesting_ dinner with Liam and Jenna, Theo’s back in the safety of his room—or well, the guest room of Liam’s house that Theo has been staying in—his crown safely put away atop his wardrobe, Theo finds himself thinking back to what Hannah had told him. That Liam and him had looked _in love._

It could be real or maybe Hannah just has so much of a positive view on life. He smiles wistfully to himself as he hopes that she can forever be like that, that she will forever be the amazing, lovely, absolutely wonderful girl that Theo has had the chance to spend time with. He hopes that life won’t be too rough on her as it was on him.

In the end, Theo’s heart still races as he thinks of Hannah’s words, his rib cage rattling at the sheer force underneath it, of his heart trying to break out and find where it’s always wanted to be. Alongside with Liam’s.

There’s a knock on his door, and Theo looks up from where he’s been lying on the bed to find Liam leaning against his door frame, a soft smile on his lips.

Theo motions for him to come in—an invitation that Liam takes in stride, walking in and setting himself down on the bed besides Theo.

“What a day, huh?” Theo says, a moment later, eyes caught on the ceiling.

“Yeah,” Liam replies.

“I really can’t believe that actually worked,” he says, snorting a little at the memory of just moments ago. “The kiss, I mean.”

Liam snorts. “Yeah, me neither. It’s not like you’re an actual prince. Or, well, _princess._ ” Liam smirks as his eyes shift to the paper crown on Theo’s wardrobe. The words _Prince Theo_ has now been replaced by _Prince **ss** Theo, _as part of Stiles’ _brilliant_ solution.

Theo hits Liam playfully on the shoulder, which causes Liam to groan dramatically in faux-pain. “Well, your cousin might say differently,” Theo points out, giving Liam a smirk of his own.

“Either way,” Liam starts, smiling so gently at Theo. “Thanks for helping me,” he stands up for a moment, turning to face Theo and doing a little curtsey, “Your Highness.”

Theo fights the urge to hit him again, though it’s not really that hard when he’s feeling this happy. _Happy,_ he’s been using that word a lot today, on himself and on anything else, and it’s such a strange feeling. It’s foreign yet familiar too, because there _was_ a time when he was happy. It’s almost like coming back home again, to the place where he’s welcomed, and wanted, and loved.

It’s in that moment that Theo looks at Liam, _really_ looks at him and it hits him then, what Hannah had seen before. It’s that look, that Hannah was talking about—the look that her parents have described as _being in love,_ and Theo gets it. 

Liam is looking at him now with such naked affection on his face, apparent in the ocean of his eyes, and Theo wonders if it has always been there and Theo himself only realized it just now. If so then what an idiot he has been. 

“It’s _Your Majesty,_ ” Theo corrects, as he stares into Liam’s eyes.

“Huh?”

Theo reaches over to take Hannah’s queen crown from his bedside table and places it on his head. “According to Hannah, I’m the Queen now, so you should prefer to me as ‘Your Majesty’.”

Theo allows a challenging smile on his lips, mixed in with something fond, something affectionate, and something that tastes a lot like the love he isn’t bother to hide anymore. He can lie and say that it’s a part of his ‘trying to be good’ initiative, but really, he just wants to show Liam the love Liam has been showing him, for maybe just now, or maybe much longer than that.

And Liam sees it; Theo can almost pinpoint out the exact moment Liam’s smile changes, the way his eyes widen for one short second before soften up with the same emotions Theo is projecting.

He leans across the space separating them, still smiling as their lips meet with so much gentleness, Theo feels like he’s actually in the Cotton Candy Land. Hannah must be rubbing off on him because behind his eyelids right now, Theo can see the land she’s been describing to him all morning.

He can see the cotton candy clouds, the hard candy path leading towards the palace and the houses filled with stuffed animal lords and ladies. He tastes cotton candy on his lips, on his tongue too as he licks into Liam’s mouth, and he wonders if this is what love’s supposed to taste like all along.

**Author's Note:**

> As for the witch, she’s sitting inside of her red caravan that’s hidden well within the woods. She’s laughing almost maniacally as she watches the whole thing plays out on her crystal ball. “Another job well done,” she tells herself, turning off the crystal ball with a flick of her wrist. She pulls out a piece of paper and crosses out Theo and Liam’s name (codename: Thiam) off the list before reading down to the next ones. “Hm, it seems like I’ll have to stay in Beacon Hills for a long, long while.”
> 
> //.
> 
> [tumblr](https://roccketraccoon.tumblr.com)


End file.
